Fifty-five county sheriffs, the Colorado Outfitters Association, several firearms retailers, Magpul Industries, disabled individuals, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), and other parties have brought a federal lawsuit to challenge to Colorado’s recently enacted gun-control laws.

The suit, brought in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, claims the new Colorado laws are Constitutional infringements and make unenforceable law-enforcement requirements regarding magazine capacity. Two laws that are set to take effect July 1 limit the size of the of ammunition magazines to 15 rounds and expand background checks to private and online firearm sales.

The participating Colorado sheriffs represent 55 of the state’s 64 counties. The sheriffs are hoping to have the new restrictions invalidated because they believe they violate the Second Amendment.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said “We each took an oath. The line in the sand has been drawn, and we will stand united,” at the Friday Denver press conference announcing the lawsuit.

“… As the sheriffs have pointed out, we believe it will be impossible for citizens to comply with mandated firearms ‘transfers’ through federally licensed retailers,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Colorado’s federally-licensed firearms retailers are being asked to process private gun transfers as if the transactions were selling from their own inventory, and FFLs would be required to monitor both seller and buyer through a state-administered check process that can take hours or even days.

The Independence Institute held a press conference on May 17, 2013 announcing the lawsuit against the new anti-gun bills passed by the Colorado legislature and signed by Governor John Hickenlooper. Speaking is lead attorney Dave Kopel.

“They will not be able to recoup the actual cost of providing the service, which is capped at $10,” Keane said. “But they will be liable for paperwork errors and subject to license revocation. Not surprisingly, we expect few, if any licensed retailers will step forward to provide this service.”

“For this reason and the many others detailed in our joint action with our fellow plaintiffs, these laws need to be struck down,” Keane said.

Don Shawcroft, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, said, “Many family ag operations are incorporated, such as an LLC or partnership, and may also include non-family members as business partners. Requiring background checks for transfers between these partners creates an unfair burden to farmers and ranchers, as there are very few FFLs available to perform these background checks in rural areas.”

State Sen. Mary Hodge (D-S.D. 25), sponsor of the limited ammunition bill, said, “We diligently crafted these public safety laws with respect given to the Second Amendment constitutional rights of every American. These laws were not constructed haphazardly; they were constructed to protect us from massacres like the ones we suffered in Aurora and Newtown. We worked with constitutional lawyers, and studied laws that we know worked in other states. We can’t just sit by and do nothing while first-graders and moviegoers are being mowed down in one fell swoop with weapons equipped with large-capacity magazines.”

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Comments (47)

Lochlyn Grendelsson

State Sen. Mary Hodge (D-S.D. 25), sponsor of the limited ammunition bill, said, “We diligently crafted these public safety laws with respect given to the Second Amendment constitutional rights of every American. These laws were not constructed haphazardly; they were constructed to protect us from massacres like the ones we suffered in Aurora and Newtown. We worked with constitutional lawyers, and studied laws that we know worked in other states. We can’t just sit by and do nothing while first-graders and moviegoers are being mowed down in one fell swoop with weapons equipped with large-capacity magazines.”
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Perhaps she should actually investigate the types of weapons and the circumstances of their use in the theater shooting.
Maybe, if the theater had not been the only “gun-free” theater in the area …. 1) it would not have been chosen for the attack ….2) the people therein would not have been shot like fish in a barrel.
Now, she wants to ensure that more and more people will be is a situation similar to those patrons of the theater when Holmes decided to kill as many UNARMED AND UNPROTECTED people as he could.

Terry Jacobs

Hello Geoff, I worked with a gentleman from the UK back in 1970thru1973, He told me about the same thing you just stated, If you were in the wrong place you better know how to use a knife, I have been threatened with knives and shot at, I think i would rather be shot than stabbed by someone knowing how to use a knife, with few exceptions, being shot is more repairable than knife wounds, but you can’t explain that to gun grabbers, if you could they would be after our steak knives next, probably will be anyway. The idiots do not understand that controlling the criminals is the problem, not controlling the llaw abidding citizens, the best control we have over them is to vote them out of office or impeach them before they can do any more damage. Just ask someone from Australia what happened there when the guns were taken away. Also as far as crime figures, they don’t even use the correct numbers, if they did, the US is actually in the lower rates per size of population, but they won’t admit that either. We must fight for our Constitution, smarter people wrote it than are evidently around government today, let’s get back to grass roots, and enjoy our freedoms again.
Terry

Geoff Danes

I am originally from the UK, now I am a proud American – I keep my family close, and my guns closer. I probably have a unique perspective on this debate. Firearms in the UK are ‘utterly’ illegal, even for sport target shooting – to own a simple (not pump) shotgun you have to prove you own a reasonable size farm. It is a very violent country, my son on coming to the US remarked how safe it was to go clubbing, the police kept a sensible watch on things and people were – he said – congenial and peaceful. Back in London it would be amazing to find an average nightclub where there weren’t at least 3 stabbings at closing time. It is a knife culture, which is in many ways more deadly. You fire a gun, everyone knows in seconds, someone can be stabbed in a crowd and only when everyone has quietly dispersed do they find the victim. THE US GOVT. CONSTANTLY MISINTERPRETS THE CRIME FIGURES BY LOOKING AT GUN CRIME AND NOT VIOLENT CRIME IN GENERAL – if they did it would tell a very different story. I kid you not, I have stood at a commuter train station while gangs of youths hurled empty beer cans and abuse at the business people heading to the parking lot, police stood by and did nothing UNTIL two middle-aged men remonstrated with the hooligans THEN the police detained THEM !!! This is what happens when you do not have a Constitution – pay attention America, what we have is precious, many of you don’t realize this because you have never had to live without it. The President (I hesitate to say ‘our’) is in the pocket of the Europeans and they intend for America to have its Constitution stripped away. The British people are helpless in the face of constant absurd, corrupt laws because they are unarmed and cannot stand their ground against a police force that is armed and the tool of Government (thank God for brave independent Sheriffs – all UK police positions are Govt. appointed, no one gets a say in who polices them). VOW TO NEVER LET THAT BE THE CASE IN THIS GLORIOUS COUNTRY. When Americans are pushed too far they will die to defend their freedoms and they will sell their lives dearly! Politicians should look to history and back away now.

Bill

God bless you Geoff!
I love to hear how ‘good’ immigrants come to this country and embrace our Constitution and American way of life. You demonstrate our RIGHT to vote and protect our Cities, States and Country. It’s sad to think that less than 20% of Anericans vote and set the standards.

Thanks for message and please continue to fight our rights, especially the right to keep and bear arms!

Terry Jacobs

I think what this country needs to do is get back to good old grass roots, care for country and family like it use to be before this new type of government decided they are going to rule us like cattle, perhaps we should try and de-throne this new (king) he thinks, before he can do any more damage, and make sure the wonderful cronies go with him. We need to get back to love for country and families, not what we can do for illegal immigrants and their families which do nothing but drag our systems down to their lowest level possible. In short let’s start at the top, work our way down, get rid of the wonderful aclu along with other loop hole finding organizations that are fighting to bypass our constitution and make up their own laws as they need them. It is always funny when we talk to our neighbors, we all feel alike, but for some reason these stupid politicals do not or are not smart enough to figure it out. Our 2nd amendment was put in place to keep government from in it’s place as well as give us the ability to protect ourselves, families and country, now they are trying to take it back, smarter men then they wrote the constitution, let’s remind them of that. Wow it’s easy to get carried away here, but thanks for listening.
Terry

Brian

The revolution is comming. The armed MANY can only take so MUCH from the ruling few. The media goes first. Gutless blind bumbling idiots that reinforce blatent lies from the executive branch with no regard to actual fact must be held accountable for the willful dissillusionment of americans for the sole purpose of indoctrinating liberalism into main stream. Fast and Furious needs to be first hand public knowledge and is the antisathis of hipocracy in our so called progressve government. My guns stay loaded, my guns stay accessable, my gun collection will expand just for this reason al?one MUCH less all their other B.S. you have just as MUCH of a chance proving our president is a patriot as you do taking my guns. it Isn’t Going To Happen. God bless this great nation and all her constitutionally abiding citizens. We will be victorious.

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